Columbia Asset Management Cuts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Columbia Asset Management lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 82,801 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,534 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.9% of Columbia Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $24,383,677,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,503,291,000 after acquiring an additional 9,042,271 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 20,990.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,186,748 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,171,151,000 after purchasing an additional 6,157,413 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 29,866,698 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,792,317,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,559,240,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,142,195.20. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470 over the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $4.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $157.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,590,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,213,740. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.52 and a 200 day moving average of $176.31. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $202.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.51.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.